OUR STORY

Inspiring a World Where People Help Each Other Travel Abroad Safely

Depart Smart is the only nonprofit working to reach, teach and engage travelers as active participants in their health and safety abroad.

We devote our time because we want to help others enjoy rewarding global travel by avoiding dangerous situations and knowing how to get help and home safely if things were to go really wrong.

In 2007, Tyler Hill, a kind and joyful 16-year-old role model, traveled abroad to experience a new land, its people and culture as part of a People to People youth ambassador program in Japan. He looked forward to having the time of his life. But his adventure quickly turned into a nightmare after he suddenly became ill and died a preventable death.

Tyler would be alive had he known Japan’s emergency numbers, where to go and how to ask for help in Japanese.

In the midst of unbearable sadness, Tyler’s parents, Sheryl and Allen Hill, poured themselves into grassroots action. For more than a decade, they’ve worked to shed light on poor safety standards, advocate federal and state protections for U.S. students and citizens abroad and empower individuals and families with safety education—a spirited journey that is now Depart Smart.

Hours before Tyler’s death, he climbed Mt. Fuji singing the lyrics to “Walking on Sunshine.” His vibrant spirit continues to inspire all of us here at Depart Smart.

As a result, they are better prepared by knowing the destination’s local emergency phone numbers, getting the proper vaccinations and insurance, making digital copies of personal records, registering trips with the US Department of State to get alerts and warnings, asking the right questions, mapping out destinations like hospitals, airports and the U.S. Embassy, investigating neighborhood surroundings to ensure they’re not duped into risky area hotels . . . and so much more.

We need champions with heart like you to join our mission. Register yourself and loved ones with overseas travel plans today for the Travel HEROES Safety Certification Course. Save lives by sharing our initiatives on social media and with policy makers. Become a sponsor. Donate.